The Men's Open Final at the 2026 Fermoy Open went all the way to a tie breaker but it was the Irish number 1, Johnny O'Keeney who prevailed in the end to make it for him three Open wins in a row. In the tie breaker, Fermoy's O'Keeney had to come from behind winning the game 12 points to 10 over his opponent, Reese Young of Arklow. O'Keeney defeated Conor O'Callaghan (Fermoy) and Sean Lyng (Ballyane) to reach the final. Rossmore's Aisling Hickey was again the winner of the Womens Open Singles. Her opponent in the final. was Antonia Neary (Arklow) but it was the Irish number 1 day running out the winner by 3 games to 1. Other notable winners were Leigh O'Brien (Horeswood) in the Men's C/D Singles, Leigh gains promotion to the B grade. Leon Galvin (Templeudigan) was Men's Novice Singles winner who is now promoted to the D grade. Also gaining promotion to the D grade was Eva Horgan(Mitchelstown) who won the Women's Novice Singles. In Doubles, Ken Cottrell(Galmoy) & Sean Lyng(Ballyanne) were the winners of the Men's Open Doubles while Arklow's Jay Barnes and Joseph Farrell won the Men's C/D Doubles. In the only womens doubles competition (C&D), local athletes Abbie O'Meara and Ciara Noonan were the winners.  These Championships were held in An Sportlann, Castlebar on Saturday 29th November . Congratulations to the winners and the runners up in Boys Under 11, Doubles , Boys Under 13 Doubles and Mixed Doubles. Also congrats to winners & runners-up in the Under 12B & Under 14B Singles. Thanks to the parents and coaches who attended and to Castlebar Racquetball Club for hosting the Championships. Upcoming Junior Competitions Leinster Close Junior Championships - 31st Jan 2026 All Ireland Even Age Championships - 7th Mar 2026 Irish Junior Open - 21st Mar 2026  Fermoy’s Johnny O’Keeney followed up his win at the Galway Open just 3 weeks ago when he won another Men’s Singles at the 21st Ballinrobe Open. In the final he defeated Recce Young of Arklow who was competing in his very first Open Singles final. O’Keeney ran out the winner by 3 games to nil.
In the Women’s Singles, rising star Niamh Murphy (Templeudigan) is the champion by defeating the host club’s Ailbhe Gill. In thrilling final, the Wexford athlete took the honours with a 3 games to 2 victory. Men’s C/D Singles winner was Leigh O’Brien from Horeswood while Dan Coogan(Clogh) and Lisa Biggins are the newly promoted players having won the Men’s Novice Singles and the Women’s Novice Singles respectively. Fifty-five racquetball athletes entered the Ballinrobe Open with 97 matches completed at the courts over the weekend in the courts at An Sportlann, Castlebar, Carnacon Community Centre and the Lakeside Sports & Fitness Gym in Ballinrobe. Full Results on R2Sports  The Junior Uneven Championships took place on Saturday, 8th November in Fermoy, Mitchelstown and Kilworth. 56 athletes competed across 9 divisions.
We saw fantastic competition, sportsmanship and skill throughout the day! A massive congratulations to all the juniors who competed! Thanks to parents for travelling, and a massive thank you to the volunteers who made this event possible. Full Results HERE  .
Following his defeat at the Wexford Open, Irish number 1, Johnny O'Keeney showed his true form when he won the Men's Singles at the Galway Open played in Moycullen. The Fermoy athlete defeated Dara McNamara of Mitchelstown by 3 games to nil who was contesting his first ever Open Singles Final. Rossmore's Aisling Hickey was the Women's Singles winner in a repeat of the final at the Wexford Open with Antonia Neary of Arklow. Other winners at the Galway Open were James Smith (Arklow) Men’s C/D Singles, Liam Joyce (Castlebar) Men’s Novice Singles, Barbara Bradley (Moycullen) Women’s Novice Singles. Full Results HERE Pictured: Johnny O'Keeney(Fermoy), Ray Keleghan(Tournament Director) and Dara McNamara(Mitchelstown)  Noel O'Callaghan rolled back the years at the Wexford Open when he won the the Open Singles in the final played in St Josephs Community Centre in Wexford. The Fermoy veteran defeated number 1 seed Johnny O'Keeney (Fermoy) by 3 games to 1-
Aisling Hickey continued her unbeaten run in the Women's Singles. The Rossmore athlete defeated Arklow's Antonia Neary by 3 games to nil in the final. Other winners were Mark Murphy / Dara McNamara (Kilkenny/Mitchelstown in the Men's Doubles, Don Lawlor / Billy Walsh (Clogh- Moneenroe / Kilkenny) Mens C/D Doubles, Patrick Brennan (Kilkenny) Men's Novice Singles and Leigh O'Brien , CD Singles. Draws & Full Results on R2SPORT Pictured Johnny O'Keeney & Noel O'Callaghan After four days of top-class racquetball at the World Singles & Doubles Racquetball Championships in Denver, the O’Callaghan family delivered a series of impressive results on the international stage. Conor O’Callaghan secured two bronze medals, battling his way to the podium in both the Men’s B and Men’s C Singles divisions. His father, Noel O’Callaghan, added to the family success with a superb run to gold in the Men’s 45+A division, reaffirming his place among the sport’s top masters players. Darragh O’Callaghan also produced excellent racquetball throughout the event, finishing second in his group after some tightly contested matches. Unfortunately, he narrowly missed out on a place in the knockout stages but gained valuable experience against world-class opposition. The family effort was rounded out by Bernadette O’Callaghan, who travelled to Denver as a dedicated supporter. Her encouragement and presence throughout the tournament were a huge boost to the players. Congratulations to Conor, Noel, Darragh, and Bernadette on representing Ireland with pride and passion on the world stage.
The Annual General Meeting of the Association was held on Sunday 7 th September in the Bridge House Hotel, Tullamore, Co Offaly.
Clubs represented were Arklow, Ballinrobe, Castlebar, Cavan, Clogh/Moneenroe, Kilkenny and Templederry. A number of motions were passed and a new committee (EXCO) was elected for the coming season. One position remains vacant, that of Development Officer Michael Kelly(Ballinrobe), Registrations Secretary and Patrick Hanley(Fermoy) Development Officer have stepped away from the EXCO. We thank both for their hard work in promoting Irish racquetball.
 Ireland had an incredible week at the European Racquetball Championships in Aesch, Switzerland (24th–30th August), with outstanding performances across all divisions. Team Competitions
Women’s Open
Men’s Open
Mixed Open Doubles
Juniors
Masters
**25 Gold** **20 Silver** **13 Bronze** 58 medals for Ireland! What a phenomenal performance, huge congratulations to all players and coaches.
 The 12th World Games will be held in Chengdu, China from the 7 th – 17th August 2025.
The World Games are a multi-sport event organized by the International World Games Association and supported by the International Olympic Committee . Held every four years, the games showcase a variety of sports not typically featured in the Summer Olympics. Racquetball features in the 12th World Games and Ireland will be represented by Aisling Hickey (Rossmore) and Johnny O'Keeney (Fermoy). The World Games website https://www.theworldgames.org/ The World Games Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/iwga.theworldgames |
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